1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pet litter boxes, and in particular to a device and method for alerting the pet owner when the animal has used the litter box, to enable the owner to clean up the animal's deposit immediately to prevent an odor problem.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The problem of not-so-fragrant litter boxes is well known in the prior art, and many devices and methods exist for dealing with the odor issue. Some of the prior art focuses on the masking of odors by perfumes, or on absorption of odors by specially designed litter; some prior art devices automatically remove the deposit from the litter box immediately after use; some prior art devices are enclosed to prevent noxious odors from escaping, and include fans to ventilate the litter box. All of these devices are complex, cumbersome, and expensive.
Representative devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,575 to Reinartz, which discloses a litter box that automatically cleans itself after each use by sliding the used cat litter into an airtight waste container and replenishing the litter box with fresh litter via an automatic refill device; U.S. Pat. No. 7,798,101 to Waters, which discloses a litter box shaped like a rotating drum that sifts any deposits out of the litter as the drum rotates; U.S. App. No. 2006/0137619 to Dodman et al., which discloses an automatic sprayer of an odor neutralizing or masking agent coupled with a motion sensor; U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,579 to Alkire et al., which discloses an exhaust and deodorizing system that has a fan that removes the air from a closed litter box and conveys it through a filter or a fragrance bar to deodorize it. Those, and numerous other similar devices, are complex, expensive, and not always effective.